Homemade Cat Repellents

Homemade Cat Repellent

Is there a homemade cat repellent, to sprinkle on cement, wood etc. so the wild cats won't poop all over and stink up the place? I like the cats, but the poop really stinks.

Mary from Atascadero, CA

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RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

My dh uses cayenne pepper, just sprinkles it on.

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Believe it or not citrus works really well, we use cut up lemons, oranges or whatever surplus citrus we have. It works, we put in gardens to stop our cats using the gardens as toilets, also works on the wild strays that come around.

By nimwe

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Homemade Cat Repellent

Does anyone have a recipe for natural cat repellent? I have heard there is such a recipe using vinegar but that is all the info I have. Thanks

Alisa from Wytheville, VA

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RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

This is no joke. A famous TV gardener mixed urine, hopefully male, citrus juice, cayenne and vinegar and sprayed the area. The urine dissuades cats and dogs from sharing the area with another possibly dangerous species. (07/06/2007)

By vickipoo

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

If you're looking for an outdoor cat repellent, moth balls work well. Put the moth balls all around the base of the house, in bushes and any other places you want to repel the cats. (07/10/2007)

By SATellite

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Try a half hardy plant called Coleus Canina also known as Scardy Cat. It will grow in any kind of soil, has grey/green foliage, tiny blue flowers and when crushed emits a foul odour. But cats cannot bear this plant at all. Plants need full sun or partial shade and require protection from frost during winter. (09/03/2007)

By Steve

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Saw a recipe in newspaper. Vinegar, liquid soap and water. Equal parts. Spray on lawn. Recipe said use Dawn soap but any seems to work.

Urine or ammonia not good, will have cats return. In some climates citrate solutions (orange or lemon) attract bees. I've been trying the vinegar mix and getting good results no cats, or dogs. (10/01/2007)

By D. H. B..

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

If you can afford it you can get one of those sprinklers that has an electric eye on it that squirts the cats as they enter your yard. That would be the 1st step. Then I use cayenne pepper spray and spray it as a thick as possible all around the perimeter. I mix this myself (ground pepper and water). I make it just thin enough to be able to come out of the sprayer nozzle.

Spray a path from the edge of the property (or beyond if you can, about 18 inches) to inside your property line about 6'. Cats can jump a long way in length and very high. I use one of those back pack weed sprayers that you don't have to constantly squeeze. I have a big yard. Spray the surrounding bushes and plants too. I avoid spraying the open blooms. You will have to repeat this regularly to keep it fresh until the cats learn it's not going away. You can also buy this with a wax base that will last longer. Hope this helps. We have to deal with coyotes and mountain lions, and this helps with them also. I spray it all around my gardens which the cats used to use as a cat box and the dogs would bury bones. No problem anymore! (03/25/2008)

By ChefBeth

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

• 5 tablespoons of flour
• 4 tablespoons of powdered mustard
• 3 tablespoons of Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 quarts of warm water

Mix together and spray the perimeter. (05/03/2008)

By Chocol35

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

• 20 drops -lemon oil
• 10 drops -capsicum (Liquid) which is cayenne pepper
• 20 drops -eucalyptus oil
• 1 quart -water

Mix, shake well. May be sprayed on furniture, carpet, upholstery. These are approximate amounts. Experiment. (05/19/2008)

By ellens

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Some crushed garlic, cayenne, sugar, water, lemon, cinnamon. That is the best one. Cats hate it. (06/20/2008)

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Ladies and Gentlemen, I realize that cats can be destructive, BUT PLEASE DO NOT use cayenne or capsicium in your yards. It is extremely irritating and can be toxic to small children and animals. It activates pain receptors in a way that is difficult to turn off. As noted below, children and animals can get it in their eyes and cannot wash it out and it is excruciatingly painful.

(07/05/2008)

By Biologist

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Actually, it is just fine to use cayenne or derivatives. That's the point of pepper spray, which we in Colorado often carry on hikes to keep the predators at bay if needed. It won't cause, and has never caused, an animal or a person to claw their eyes. It burns (which is the point of spraying at a bear or cougar) for a while but is temporary. Plus it is better to effectively ward off stray cats from your children's play area than to have them contract Toxoplasma gondii. With cayenne, cats and other animals are generally smart enough to smell (or taste) and avoid. (07/06/2008)

By Coloradoan

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Look, stop poisoning animals, and just buy the darn Shake-Away stuff. How much do you spend on your garden and your gas-guzzling lawn mower? Maybe the citrus might be okay I guess, but cayenne, no! and mothballs--come on! Mothballs are a poison and you should NOT be using them at all anywhere near your home. (07/24/2008)

By Knitsy

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Just discovered this. Rosemary Essential Oil - cats run in fear. Try mixing a little of rosemary with water, and mist it onto areas that are problematic. If you have cats pee in your house like me, you'd much rather live with the rosemary smell than the cat urine smell. (08/19/2008)

By Josh

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Citrus will work. Don't use cayenne or moth balls! Moth balls are poisonous to all the animals in your yard, and if you need me to post a picture of a cat that has destroyed its own vision trying to get pepper oil out of its eyes, I can. Their tears are not the same as ours, and they have a membrane between their outer eyelid and eyeball. Imagine having a wet tissue soaked in cayenne between your eyelid and eyeball. (09/24/2008)

By redstar

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Citronella is great to use. It's safe as a repellent for all animals. My vet recommended I use a collar that sprays citronella instead of using a shock collar on my deaf border collie. I've also used it outside to keep cats off my porch, and to keep the cats inside off the kitchen counters, dining table, and pool table. (09/27/2008)

By Johnny

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

For those of you who have houseplant-pottying cats: rather than using a substance as a deterrent, I have taken wooden chopsticks/bamboo skewers and placed them at intervals of a couple of inches in the dirt of the plant-pots. They're not unattractive -- you'll get used to it in a few days! -- and since our kitties would prefer not to have their bottoms poked, we've not had any houseplant-pottying since. This also works in small areas in the garden -- we've got our vegetable plot skewered (and laid-flat chicken-wired) as well. (11/09/2008)

By LoveMyKitties

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Upon reading a bit of the posts and seeing that there are orange trees in my own yard, I decided to try my own solution on my new outside cat that keeps sneaking in through the door when we enter the house. I'm not looking for some plant solution, some this or that fix, but I have found it thanks to you guys! I grabbed an orange (still green), brought it inside, and squished some juice into a cup. Then I added a little warm water, put it in my DIY water dripper (water bottle with small hole in cap), and dripped water all over the entry rug. The cat instantly would refuse to enter the house!

Ta da! Instant fix as of a few minutes ago. I'm not sure if this will bring other pests (ants, etc.), but for now it is definitely doing its job well. Just thought I would share! (12/02/2008)

By Orange Grove solution??

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Plant rosemary all around your perimeter, low maintenance, and it works. Cats hate it.

(12/15/2008)

By lvm

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

I feel most of these solutions are inhumane. With all due respect. I decided to make a little fun from my out of control cat problem, 8 cats and about 12 offspring. I decided to teach my 9 year old daughter how to make a nice cat trap. We started by feeding the cats and getting them to come around more and more. Then we made various forms of traps using everything from blankets, boxes and milk baskets. We then trap the cats and take them to the local humane society. It made for great quality time with my daughter and the cats are unharmed. Great fun! (01/09/2009)

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Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Every day when I wake up, my backyard is filled with fresh cat poop. It's a nightmare. My daughter is highly allergic to cats, there are flies everywhere and the yard smells unbearable. They lay on my flower beds and smash the flowers. I'm out picking up poop everyday (and I don't have a pet for that reason). I have to cover up my garden every night before sunset or they'll destroy that too. I'm at my wits end.

By KBennett from Chandler, AZ

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RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

You can use mothballs or sprinkle cayenne pepper around. You will have to reapply it periodically and after a rain. (05/04/2009)

By Anonymous

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Are you sure it's cat poop? Cat's don't usually leave their feces uncovered. That's why they like sand boxes, because it's easy to cover their poop with the sand. Cat's do like to "mark their territory" by spraying urine on doors, etc, but I've never known a cat to leave it's feces uncovered. You could try spraying ammonia or vinegar around your yard. I've read somewhere that cats hate those odors. (05/04/2009)

By Patty Lynn

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

I got rid of skunks and cats. I sprinkled Citronella oil around my fence and flower beds. They will not cross over it. (05/07/2009)

By ladybug1512

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Cats don't like the smell of citronella. What I did was buy a large bag of citronella tea lights. They last for a long time and worked great for me especially in the garden below my window where the cat odour was. (05/07/2009)

By ylvasteve

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Mothballs are toxic to cats. They will cause liver damage that kills the pet. If someone finds out, they can take you to small claims court for animal cruelty, and yes, you will end up with a record. It is a felony in most states. Think before using this one.

Several abandoned cats live next to us now, and I have two of my own. Cats always cover their feces, possums don't. I have a few possums that come around at night, scrounge for food, and leave their feces everywhere, all uncovered. They are quiet, come and go quickly, and can make a mess. It took me a while to realize the problem. (05/08/2009)

By susanmajp

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

I agree that it doesn't really sound like cats, unless they are really disturbed. I did have a farm cat that didn't cover. I believe that she was not properly taught by her own mother or perhaps had some sort of psychological issues, as we had multiple cats at the time, several of whom were her kittens. She was the only one who left piles on the lawn. You are sure it is cats? I have had over 20 cats on my farm, and other than this one with the bathroom problem, they didn't bother anything veggies, flowers, gardens, nothing was damaged in any way. I had many rock gardens and flowerbeds and vegetable gardens. The only thing my present cats have harmed was the catnip I planted for them; they loved it to oblivion. But they don't hurt anything else.

You can buy cat repellents at pet and hardware stores. I had some that was some sort of green granules that you sprinkled on the lawn. I had to reapply after a rain. I have tried mothballs in the past, and the smell of those is worse than the cat smell. Since it is so toxic, I wouldn't use it at all. The smell is truly horrible, and of course is not healthy for people either.

I have my own cats now and so they keep other cats out of the yard. Perhaps you should get a dog? I did have stray cats that sprayed the front of the house, and I had very good results by splashing lemon scented Mr. Clean around on the front. It covered up and washed away the urine stains, and seemed to keep the stray cats away as well. (05/18/2009)

By louel53

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Homemade Cat Repellent

I have two cats, but there are a lot of stray cats in our neighborhood. This is a problem because a stray tom cat has been sneaking into our basement window and spraying. What can I use as a cat repellent that won't bother my own cats? Is there anything that I can use to take the tom cat's spray smell out?

Desirae

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RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

Wow, there's lots of controversy about cayenne pepper. I'd stay away from it just in case. And mothballs can cause liver damage to cats, both yours and the stray, so I'm sure you don't want to take a chance on harming your pets. It might just be easiest to close the window or at least screen it. Stores sell lots of enzyme cleaners to clean such smells, but I've never had to buy them so I'm not sure of their names. I'm sure if you Googled it, you'd find the brand names. Best of luck. (03/07/2009)

By susanmajp

RE: Homemade Cat Repellent

For the smell that the male cat has left in your house, use OUT!. It is by far the best product I have ever used. You can get it at Walmart or Kmart (I buy it a Kmart, 11.99 for a gallon vs. 8.99 for 1/2 gallon at Walmart). I raise boxers so I often have puppies in my house.

My friend had a male cat that was marking in all the corners of her house before she got him fixed. You would walk in her house and the odor would hit you like a wall. I took a spray bottle filled with OUT! over, sprayed it in all the corners and the next day the smell was gone.

This product is not just a cover-up, it actually neutralizes the urine smell. It smells nice too which is just an added bonus. It has to be tested for color-fastness, but can be used on hardwood floors, concrete, carpets, furniture and even put in your washing machine for your laundry. It will even get dried poop stains out. I even put it in my steam cleaner every time I shampoo my carpets. (03/07/2009)

By boxergirl76

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

We have a couple stray cats around here that holler, moan, and cry all night long. How can I keep them out of my driveway and yard? I have a small dog and he goes crazy when they start all their noise.

Thanks for the help.

By Mooses Mom from FL

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RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

If you're sure these cats are strays and don't belong to a neighbor, you can call your local Humane Society (the pound), they usually have (free to borrow) safe traps that you can use to catch these strays then take them to the humane society where they may be able to find homes for them after they've been "fixed". Sometimes they'll come and pick them up. These traps don't hurt the animal. I know this because an old neighbor of mine caught 3 stray cats this way and also 2 nasty raccoons.

This is because we used to live 2 houses away from a cat hoarder who had over a dozen cats, so when her house burned down they stayed in the neighborhood after she moved away. We kept one of the friendlier cats as a "porch cat" and named her "cute-face" and fed her daily. The other cats weren't as friendly so my neighbor trapped them and took them to a no-kill shelter. There's lots of people out there looking for an outdoor mouser, and let me tell you that when I lived at that house near all the cats, we never had a mouse or a rat, even if we failed to go to the dump as often as we should have! It's important to cover the cage as soon as the animal is caught to save them stress and help keep them calm. The traps come in 3 or 4 sizes, you need the right size. (06/09/2009)

By Cyinda

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Trapping them and taking them to the animal shelter does not guarantee they wont be euthanized. If the cat is wild they DON'T 'fix' them and try to find them homes, they kill them. So if you are prepared to live with that, go ahead with that idea. Otherwise, there are products you can purchase at farm stores called 'feline away' and other products for unwanted animals in your garden and yard. You sprinkle it in your yard once a month or so and it deters the unwanted animals from wanting to visit your yard. After a while they won't bother you at all and you won't have to use anything else.

Also, cats don't like the smell of rue plants. You can plant them around your home to keep cats away as well. (06/09/2009)

By SusLuvsVintage

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Believe it or not, moth balls or crystals work. That is what they use in the mountains to keep out unwanted animals. I tried it and it worked. Just have to live with the smell of the moth balls, but the kitties stay out. (06/09/2009)

By missfeline

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

You could fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of citrus essential oils and spray them when you see them. Personally I don't mind a couple of feral cats outside, they tend to keep the rodent population down and snake population down. (06/09/2009)

By Ziggee

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

There are hose end lawn sprinklers that come with motion detectors on them and when movement is detected, they turn on and drench the offending invader. This would work for cats, possums and other night creatures. Just Google it and I am sure you can find a source. It was first invented for deer, but will work for all 'critters'. If the spray doesn't hit them, the sudden noise will cause them to find other quieter places to prowl. (06/10/2009)

By mommarock

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

While these responses are good, they don't address the underlying issue, which is the fact that the cats are yowling because they are un-neutered/un-spayed. Your best option is to contact your local feral cat initiative. Just google them. They will often come out, trap the cats humanely, and have them spayed or neutered. You will not only end of noise, improve your community by reducing any cat overpopulation, but also bring your dog some peace of mind! (06/10/2009)

By Ingrid in NY

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

Call the local feral cat place, you should be able to get a trap for free or a small rental fee (it's worth it to have them stop). In the meantime, you can mix up a bottle of citrus oil and water spray outside. Set up some citronella candles on the border, cats don't like the citrus scent at all. (06/10/2009)

By michawnpita

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

The Humane Society in my city has a "trap, spay/neuter, and release" program. They loan you a live trap (you put down a deposit, which you get back when you return the trap). You catch the cat and take it to them. They "fix" it free of charge. They also give them a rabies/parvo, etc. shot, so they stay healthy. Then you pick it up and release it back where you found it. I have done this several times. I have a few strays around my yard, no yowling, no babies, and, best of all, no mice! Phone your local shelter and see if they have a similar program. (06/10/2009)

By catastrofy

RE: Keeping Cats Out of Yard

We used to have an awful time keeping stray cats out of my garden, and doing their business there, so I sprinkled cayenne pepper in all my garden areas. To keep them from yowling and fighting around my house, we bought a Water Blaster, one of those super squirt guns. It only took a few times getting a shower to keep them away. But with a dog you wouldn't want to use the cayenne pepper. And getting up out of bed at all hours to squirt cats is probably not too enticing to you, so I think the sprinkler with a motion censor is a great idea. (06/10/2009)

By patom

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

We just moved into our rental, and there is a cat that seems to love our front yard. It smells horrible when we walk outside from the urine and poop. How can I get it to stop going on the grass?

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

My neighbor and I are having problems with cats stinking up our whole neighborhood. You can't even step into the front lawn or the backyard. Please help us. Thank you.

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

I have a huge problem with neighborhood cats using my flower beds and yard as a litter box.

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

I have stray cats come into my yard. They dig up my bulbs and also poo in my yard.

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

How can I keep cats out of my yard? They urinate all over and it smells.

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

How can I keep the neighborhood cats from pooping in my yard? I have tried (scarecrow) an electronic pet repeller, but they have figured out a way to go around it.

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Keeping Cats Out of My Yard

Is there a cheap and easy way to repel cats from using the loose soil around the house as a kitty litter box? Thanks.

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Homemade Cat Repellent

Is there a natural repellent that I can use to keep strays from using my shrubs as a litterbox?